Kentucky women's basketball headed to Alabama on Thursday night, looking to completely spoil Auburn's Senior Night.
And they started out doing exactly that. The Cats came out of the gates completely blitzing the Tigers, jumping out to a dominant 14-3 lead early in the first quarter.
But much like the heartbreaking Vanderbilt game earlier this week? Kentucky eventually cooled off. And they let their opponent hang around.
Like Vanderbilt, could Auburn make the Cats pay?
Ugly turnover issues surface again
The Cats were clearly the superior team when they could actually get a shot off. But turnovers showed up again in an incredibly ugly way.
Kentucky committed 10 turnovers in the first 27 minutes alone, consistently handing Auburn extra possessions. The Cats finished the night with 17 total giveaways on the night, which is just too much.
The good news is that when they did hold onto the basketball, the offense was incredibly efficient. Kentucky shot 19 for 34 over that same 27-minute stretch. And a massive reason for that offensive success was the perimeter shooting.
Amelia Hassett had the absolute magic touch from deep. She went a scorching 5 of 8 from the 3-point line, finishing with a team-high 15 points to keep the Auburn defense on its heels.
And you simply cannot talk about this road win without highlighting Teonni Key. She was an absolute force on the inside. Key nearly pulled down a double-double, finishing with 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds to ensure Auburn didn't get the easy second-chance points they desperately needed as they tried to close it out late.
Surviving the late Auburn run
It wasn't always pretty down the stretch.
Kentucky built a massive 19-point lead (61-42) with under six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. But Auburn refused to quit on their home floor. The Tigers desperately fought back, ripping off a 14-2 run to cut the lead down to just seven points in the final moments.
Fortunately for the Cats, it was simply too little, too late.
Kentucky held on for a hard-fought 63-56 road win, successfully bouncing back from Sunday's heartbreak and keeping their NCAA Tournament hosting dreams alive.
Up next is South Carolina on Sunday.